Missouri Tigers football at Florida Gators: TV, kickoff, betting line, prediction
THE DETAILS
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
TV: SEC Network Alternate
Betting line: Florida by 12
Radio: KMBZ (98.1 FM)
PREDICTION
Hey, Mizzou fans. You guys enjoying a two-game winning streak? Well, here’s another ranked opponent — your fourth top-25 opponent in five games — to open the 2020 season. Enjoy.
That’s life in the SEC. Mizzou (2-2) gets No. 10 Florida (2-1) on the road for a Halloween showdown.
A significant part of this game comes down to how the Gators look on the other side of their COVID-19 outbreak. They had to shut down football activities for about two weeks and they just got back to practice on Monday. Florida coach Dan Mullen declined to give specifics on how many players will be unavailable because of the coronavirus and injuries. And it’s unknown how rusty the Gators will look Saturday.
MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz isn’t worried about that — he’s busy game-planning for a potent Florida passing attack. Gators quarterback Kyle Trask is one of the best in the SEC at his position as he’s thrown for 14 touchdowns and 996 yards in 2020. Tight end Kyle Pitts is a future NFL player and Drinkwitz noted Florida uses Trask like similar superstars in the NFL, George Kittle and Travis Kelce. Pitts has been a touchdown machine, hauling in seven scores in 2020 through three games.
Florida’s one of the best offenses in the SEC — similar to Alabama and LSU, who the Tigers have already faced. MU showed off its versatility in its win over Kentucky. The Tigers pounded it on the ground to keep it a low-scoring game. At the same time, Missouri outlasted LSU in an offensive shootout just a few weeks ago.
Mizzou will look to quarterback Connor Bazelak, who firmly has the grasp on the starting gig. Drinkwitz said early this season the Tigers need to feed running back Larry Rountree III some more — and that’s exactly what they’ve done. Look for another balanced outing from a Mizzou offense that’s quickly becoming dependable to put up points on the board.
The Tigers are down to 64 scholarship players and not because of COVID-19, but Drinkwitz’s team has been unfazed through the process.
We’ll say Missouri hangs around but Florida’s pass attack is too much and the Gators pull away. Mizzou’s defense finally forces a couple turnovers to swing momentum, but the Tigers aren’t able to slow down the Trask-Pitts duo enough near the end.
Florida 31, Missouri 27